A Un bid for “observer-state status” is the first step toward achieving Palestinian rights and has wide support in the General Assembly, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday.

“We are going to the United Nations with confidence, supported by all peace lovers,” he said in the West Bank city of Ramallah. “Be assured, there are many countries [supporting the bid].”

Abbas, who controls only the West Bank, is moving ahead with the initiative after an Egypt-brokered cease-fire ended eight days of fighting that left more than 160 Palestinians and six Israelis dead in Gaza.

Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, ending a partnership government with Abbas’ Fatah party a year after winning parliamentary elections, gave the Palestinian Authority its backing for the UN bid on Nov. 22. Abbas said he hoped a successful vote would lead to a reconciliation between the factions.

On Nov. 8, the Palestinian Authority circulated its resolution to put the Palestine Liberation Organization on par with the Holy See, according to a draft that’s to be put to a vote in the 193-member General Assembly, where the initiative has enough support to pass and the US lacks veto power.